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Methodists celebrate 250 years in Pennington
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HoVal XC stars turn to winter track
BY JOE EMANSKI
BY RICH FISHER Claire Dumont and Elsie Rey-de-Castro come from distance-running families, and the Hopewell Valley Central High duo are keeping the family tradition alive. Both are jogging their way into the winter track season on a treadmill of confidence after qualifying for the NJSIAA Cross Country Meet of Champions as wild cards. Each plan on doing the onemile and two-mile races and possibly the 800, and coach Aaron Oldfield is hoping to put together some strong relays in the distance medley and 4x800 to help increase their base entering the spring season. While they now focus on track, they can also look back on outstanding cross country seasons that provided a strong foundation for moving forward. Then again, the whole distance running thing took root with them before this. “They fill all those boxes of great athletes,” coach Aaron Oldfield said. “They’re commitSee XC, Page 14
Outgoing Hopewell Borough Council president Charles Schuyler “Sky” Morehouse and outgoing borough mayor Paul Anzano in borough hall, Dec. 1, 2023. (Staff photo by Joe Emanski.)
End of an era in Hopewell Boro how far would Two long-serving serving as mayor or on council. hand, was in the running in time, Anzano served November for an eighth straight you goInifthat they public officials are one term on council and four as term on the council where, were mayor. sick?Morehouse, meanwhile, despite being the lone Republimoving on in 2024 served seven consecutive terms can among six members, he had on council, starting in 2003. served as president in 2023. In Anzano’s case, the deparHowever, after all the votes The first council meeting of ture has been planned for some had been counted, Morehouse 2024 might feel a little strange to time. He announced early last had received the third most, some in Hopewell Borough. year that he would not run again behind Democratic candidates It will be the first meeting to for mayor, though he says he Sheri Hook and Heidi Wilenius. be held since 2004 in which nei- had known for a while that his Only two seats were in play. toterm Capital Health. ther Paul Anzano norWelcome Charles fourth would be his last. By no means does that mean See BOROUGH, Page 8 Schuyler “Sky” Morehouse is Morehouse, on the other When someone you care about is sick, you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they get the best care. And so do we.
BY JOE EMANSKI
They say that a Pennington man named Jonathan Bunn left a Methodist Society Meeting in Trenton in 1772 believing that he needed to bring Methodism closer to home. Within two years, he had begun what today is known as the Pennington United Methodist Church, which for 250 years has been either at the literal or the figurative heart of Pennington Borough, if not both. This month, the church’s leadership, including Pastor Joseph Jueng, and its members will begin celebrating what might be called the church’s semiquincentennial, if that were not such a mouthful. “It’s the 250-year anniversary not of the church building, but of a Methodist presence in Pennington,” Jueng says. “We didn’t set the stake in the sand on that. Our forebears decided to celebrate 200 years in 1974. So now that it’s 2024, we celebrate 250 years.” Methodist fervor was sweeping the land at the time that Bunn got caught up in it. “MethSee PUMC, Page 5
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